The following is a trademark disclaimer that I found in a textbook recently, although I’m not sure that ‘disclaimer’ is the correct term. I haven’t noticed provisions drafted like this before and I’m really not sure what it’s getting at. I’d be interested in others’ thoughts…
“All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. [Book publisher] cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark of service mark.”
My initial questions are:
1/ What is this clause trying to achieve?
2/ Is it an attempt to avoid liability for TM infringement or dilution? If so, I’m not sure how it would achieve that, particularly as it’s framed in terms of the validity of the mark in the markholder’s hands.
3/ How does the reference to ‘appropriately capitalized’ terms have any bearing on the question as to the potential liability of the publisher for TM infringement or dilution, if indeed that’s what the reference is for?
4/ How does it make sense to frame the clause in terms of ‘not affecting the validity of the TMs’? Wouldn’t the potential problem for the publisher be a concern by a TM holder that its marks had been infringed or diluted in some way, not that they may be invalid?
Has anyone else come across these types of clauses in print or online publications?